Imagine your own personal El car, running quietly along a small track and taking you directly to the station you request. It almost happened—in Rosemont. Read more
Michigan's legislature is putting a sales-tax increase to voters in order to combat their crumbling roads—with the support of Republican governor Rick Snyder. If Illinois's new Republican leader decides it's necessary, he's got political momentum within his own party. Read more
Unlikely buildings—like a massive armory—have been placed in Chicago parkland, while the Field Museum and the Dunbar School were fought off. So does the presidential library stand a chance? Read more
When Chicago closed 47 schools, it directed kids towards better-performing "welcoming schools"—some with considerably higher ratings, some slightly better. Not all parents took them up on the offer, for a variety of reasons. Read more
What the city looked like at the peak of its population, but before the skyscraper boom that gave the City of Big Shoulders its immense height. Read more
Two-year schools played a foundational role in Silicon Valley's rise. Today, students with associate's degrees, in some states, come out of school making more than the average university grad. Read more
